Master of Public Policy Student Research Papershttp://hdl.handle.net/1957/4129

2015-08-02T22:33:45ZScience, Policymaking and the Politics of Climate Change in the U.S. and the E.U.: The co-production of consensus and controversyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1957/56375
Science, Policymaking and the Politics of Climate Change in the U.S. and the E.U.: The co-production of consensus and controversy
Martins Marcos, Patricia
Climate change policies present multiple quandaries to the field of public policy and science
studies. Despite the prevalent scientific consensus, approaches demonstrate great heterogeneity. With one side advocating for the facticity of climate change and a pro-active stance, while the other argues about negative economic trade-offs, viewpoints diverge. Between controversy and risk, and consensus and trust, deliberations on how to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change remain polarized. This essay compares the politics and divergent styles of climate change policymaking adopted in the EU and US. It hypothesizes whether the EU’s technocratic system of governance, when compared to the US populist system, is more conducive to evidence-based scientific climate policies. Followed by an analysis of the drivers and deterrents of policy that set apart the approaches of each polity, it is concluded that notwithstanding the prominent scientific dimension of climate change, as a policy problem, climate is also an inescapably political matter. Rather than deeming one polity as inherently more likely to base policies on scientific evidence, it is concluded that both controversy and consensus are co-produced by a combination of the following: propitious institutional conditions, a degree of political backing, and the ability which policymakers have of fomenting trust by reducing policy options and agreeing on a common core of measures. In the specific case of climate change, the EU’s democratic deficit acts as a conduit promoting the calibration of inter-institutional and supranational alignments. Conversely, the US populist ethos foments controversy and a fight about the meaning and implications of climate change.
Graduation date: 2015
2015-06-12T00:00:00ZThe Influence of Tax Composition on Tax Evasionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1957/56374
The Influence of Tax Composition on Tax Evasion
Ivlieva, Anastasiia
Tax evasion is one of many problematic issues associated with tax systems that negatively affect
state’s ability to provide public goods and services. This study seeks to examine the impact of
tax composition on tax evasion using information about 150 countries from 1999 to 2007. The
paper adopts neoclassical theoretical framework based on the assumption that individuals
maximize their utility function by making rational decisions regarding tax compliance while
accounting for external factors. The results were obtained by performing fixed-effects
regressions in which the main dependent variable, tax evasion, was approximated by the size of
the shadow economy. The findings suggest that an increase in the ratio of income taxes to
consumption taxes is expected to increase tax evasion in the group of OECD countries, which
partially supports the main hypothesis and fully supports the hypothesis about differences in the
influence of tax composition on tax compliance in highly developed and developing nations.
Moreover, an increase in the ability of country's citizens to participate in selecting their
government as well as in freedom of speech and expression is associated with declining tax
evasion. These results are discussed in the work together with policy implications based on the
findings.
Graduation date: 2015
2015-06-09T00:00:00ZWind Energy in Klickitat County, Washingtonhttp://hdl.handle.net/1957/56373
Wind Energy in Klickitat County, Washington
Grandolfo, Joseph D.
Wind energy has widespread public support; nevertheless, the emergence of local support or
opposition in response to siting proposals is often unpredictable. Uncertainty surrounding a
community’s response is problematic for both the company planning the project and for states
pursuing policies for expanded development and use of renewable energy. Given Washington’s
recent climate change pact with Oregon, California, and British Columbia to promote clean
energy solutions and their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) calling for 15% of the State’s
electricity use to be from renewable sources by 2020, deeper understanding of local responses to wind energy siting is of both practical and conceptual importance. This research employs the
concepts of political opportunity and trust to provide insight into aspects of the community
context that drive community responses to wind facility siting in Klickitat County, Washington.
The findings indicate that mistrust was a critical factor in the ability of decision-makers to
mobilize support for its pro-wind policy. Furthermore, the experiences in Klickitat County
illustrate how political opportunities can both enhance and diminish the prospects for
mobilization in the context of wind siting proposals. While most research on community
response to energy siting proposals focuses on project challengers, this case study illustrates how many of the same factors also apply to mobilization of project supporters. These findings further emphasize the importance of the local community context when exploring wind facility siting conflicts.
Graduation date: 2015
2015-06-12T00:00:00ZStakeholder Perceptions of Public Participation in LNG Siting in Coos Bay, Oregonhttp://hdl.handle.net/1957/56371
Stakeholder Perceptions of Public Participation in LNG Siting in Coos Bay, Oregon
Gaustad, Brittany V.
Selecting locations for large energy facilities represents a land use dilemma: The
beneficiaries of such facilities often are not the ones to suffer from adverse local impacts.
As a result, it is not uncommon for local opposition groups to form in response to such
proposals, and although opportunities for public participation are built into the process,
questions remain as to their effectiveness. I find that previous experiences regarding
industrial development proposals in Coos Bay fostered mistrust of local decision makers
as well as a sense of procedural injustice among opponents of such projects and
established a network of existing mobilizing structures in which LNG opponents were
able to mobilize. I also find that the change from import to export helped to facilitate the
mobilization of opposition among landowners along the pipeline. Finally, supporters
mobilized in support of the project, forming a strategic alliance with Veresen, the
company that owns Jordan Cove, and as a reaction to opponents dominating public
discussions about the project. The purpose of this research is to identify areas of
improvement for effective public participation processes surrounding large-scale, coastal,
industrial development through an in-depth case study of the Jordan Cove energy project.
Graduation date: 2015
2015-06-11T00:00:00Z